THE FIFTH DOWN; Ravens to Open on the Road

By JUDY BATTISTA

Published: March 23, 2013

The Baltimore Ravens, the defending Super Bowl champions, will open the season on the road because the N.F.L. and Major League Baseball could not work out a scheduling conflict with the Baltimore Orioles.

Since 2004, the N.F.L. has staged its season opener – along with concerts and other festivities – at the home of the Super Bowl champion, usually on the Thursday night before the first full weekend of the regular season. But on that night this year, Sept. 5, the Baltimore Orioles open a four-game series at home against the Chicago White Sox. Because the Ravens and the Orioles share some parking lots, their games cannot overlap. And because Sept. 4 is the start of Rosh Hashana, the N.F.L. decided it would not play that night.

After weeks of trying to find a solution, which included more than one phone call between Commissioners Roger Goodell and Bud Selig, they gave up on Friday. The two sides discussed having the Orioles play earlier in the day and having the Ravens kick off later than normal, and potential financial compensation paid to the Orioles by the Ravens.

“After thorough discussions among the Orioles, the N.F.L. and the Ravens, it became clear that holding both an Orioles’ game and the Ravens’ regular-season opener on the same day would create logistical situations that would cause serious issues for the city of Baltimore, and fans for both teams,” Ravens President Dick Cass said in a statement.

“The Ravens greatly appreciate the willingness of the Orioles to adjust the start of their game in an effort to make this sports spectacular happen. But, in the end, anticipated problems with parking, rush-hour traffic, plus crowd and car congestion around Oriole Park and M&T Bank Stadium, will keep the doubleheader from taking place.”

The Ravens could not play at home on Sunday night in a nationally televised game because the Orioles and White Sox are scheduled to play a day game and need the ability to play at night in case they have to play a day-night doubleheader to make up for a rainout earlier in the series. The Orioles also declined to move the Thursday night game to a day-night doubleheader on Saturday. Such a move would have altered the teams’ pitching rotations late in the season, a potential problem if the teams are in contention.

Ravens coaches had expressed a preference for playing on the road on Thursday rather than at home on Sunday or Monday night anyway because they wanted the competitive advantage of having extra days to rest and prepare for the second game of the season.

This is a rare case of the N.F.L., which dominates baseball in fan popularity, not getting what it wants. The N.F.L. has not announced whom the Ravens will play in the opener.The N.F.L. said in a statement it is disappointed for the fans in Baltimore, but it is exploring staging fan activities in Baltimore, including a pregame concert, on Sept. 5.

“Given the limited options available to reschedule the game at that late date in the season, the parties jointly determined that even an earlier start time would still create such enormous logistical difficulties that it would greatly diminish the fan experience for both events, which all parties realized would not be in the interest of their fans or the city,” the Orioles said.

This is a more complete version of the story than the one that appeared in print.